Cora didn't waste one second in getting herself back to King George's kingdom. Turning herself into an animal to travel faster was out of the question because she needed to be able to travel with the heart, so she disguised herself as an old woman and ordered a carriage.

She settled down in the carriage holding the box with Alan's heart in it tightly. Her chest felt heavy with a feeling she couldn't quite place. Hopefully it was relief. This was a good thing. If the one person she'd ever truly loved was gone, didn't that mean she had nothing to lose but herself? Love was weakness. She'd learned that a long time ago. The two times in her life that she had been most vulnerable were right after Alan left and when she killed him. This was all a reminder of why she'd never let herself love Regina, or care for Henry. She'd grown a little attached to Regina over the years, to be sure. But never to the point of actually loving her.

"Excuse me? How many days should it take to get to King George's kingdom?"

"Seven days, miss. Eight at the most."

Eight days and power over everyone and everything in this kingdom would be hers.

Cora let herself smile as she ran her fingers over the box. The box that represented pure power and invincibility for her. She was now on the road to true happiness.

Meanwhile, Daniel whistled as he rounded the corner of the barn, slightly startled to see Regina sitting next to her favorite horse's stall on a rickety stool.

"Are you sure you should be out of bed, Regina?"

"It's okay," she assured him. "The midwife says it should be another ten days or so before the baby comes. Eight at the least."

"Good," said Daniel. "I was about to give Firefly a training lesson. Want to come watch?"

"Okay."

Daniel stopped to hold his wife for just a moment and kiss her on the forehead before getting the five-month-old colt out of his mother's stall and brought him outside. Regina sat down in a chair nearby and forced a smile. He noticed she was pale. She was almost always frightened these days. The nightmares were happening so often now that Daniel had finally to explain to Henry that a horrible monster came after mommy when she was a little girl and she was afraid of it coming back. This caused the child some stress, but he was usually okay because his parents could convince him they would be able to protect him better than Regina's parents had. The worst part is that they weren't sure they were telling him the truth.

"Easy, Firefly," said Daniel softly as he rubbed the currycomb gently along the horse's side and then more firmly to better clean his coat and massage his belly. Concentrating on his work with the horses during the day was when kept him sane as each day brought his family closer to the curse. Perhaps it helped Regina somewhat as well. On the days that she was too tired to go out to barn herself he discussed each horse's progress with her at the end of the day. It was much easier talking about plans for teaching Firefly how to take a metal bit in his mouth and Starlight how to go over a three foot jump than any plans they had for themselves and their children.

Daniel feared for Regina being functionally a single mother in this new realm, and he wasn't sure how he himself would survive without her. But even more sickening was that he would never get to see Henry learn how to ride a course of jumps, or start school, or become a man. And this new baby who's gender he might not even know for twenty-eight years. He and Regina had agreed on Noah after his father if it was a boy, but they were still trying to decide on a girl name, either Gail after Daniel's mother or Helena after Regina's father's mother. But it felt awful to know that he might never be able to contribute anything to his baby's upbringing except for a name.

Daniel had never been a man who made a habit out of hating people. But Cora was the exception that proved the rule.

Meanwhile, James entered his castle and found Abigail waiting for him in the hall.

"Did you speak to the royal craftsman?"

"He says it should only take about six more days to finish the wardrobe. Eight at the most." He heard the rattling of wheels behind him and looked up. "Whose carriage is that?"

"It belongs to King White," said Abigail. "Let us quickly put on some decent clothes and prepare to receive him."

But when they came back downstairs dressed to greet his royal highness, the person who was waiting for them was a gorgeous brunette woman about Abigail's age that James didn't recognize. "How do you do, Princess White?" said Abigail warmly as she curtseyed.

"Very well, thank you. And call me Snow. My father and dear stepmother apologize for the fact that they weren't able to make this journey themselves, but they haven't been feeling well."

"That's quite alright. I don't believe you've met my husband, James."

"Lovely to meet you, Princess." He bowed and kissed her hand on the customary fashion, taking just a moment to look up into her eyes as he did so.

James cleared his throat and turned to one of his maids. "Can you please see if Princess Snow would like something to…"

"I heard something about a curse," Snow interjected. James and Abigail both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. "It's true, isn't it?" Neither of them said anything. "How could you keep something like this a secret?"

"We don't know when the curse is going to happen," James explained.

"And even if we did, there's nothing anyone can really do to prepare for it," said Abigail. "We figured it would be best to avoid all the panic."

Snow frowned. "But surely other kings and queen must know? Why is it that your father hasn't told my father?"

"We haven't told anyone," James admitted. "How did you find out?"

"Through the animals in the forest," Snow snapped. "Did you really think you were the only one who could tell what they're thinking without using magic?"

"Oh, great," said James. "Does this mean that everyone knows now?"

"What, that we have less than ten days to go before the curse is cast?" Snow smiled a little as James's jaw dropped in horror and Abigail's eyes widened. "Ha! Didn't know that now, did you?"

"What we do know is that there is nothing we can do to stop the witch from casting her curse," snapped James. "That's why we don't want to do anything that could cause a panic."

Snow shook her head. "There has got to be some way. All curses can be broken."

"That shows what you know about curses," James retorted. "Broken isn't the same thing as prevented. The woman casting it is an evil witch who rips out the hearts of everyone who upsets her and apparently has the dark one's support. She can't be stopped."

"It's true, I'm afraid."

Snow turned around and was quite startled to see the elderly man who had just entered the palace. "Lord Henry, what are you doing here?"

"I heard the rumors about the curse and had to tell you everything I know about the woman who is casting it." Interested, Snow turned around to face Lord Henry. "Everything this man has said is true."

"How did you know her?" asked Snow.

"She was my wife," Henry confessed. "We were married twenty-five years. She became a witch while she was pregnant with our only child, and she threatened the child to get me to do terrible things. Some times, I was even forced to charge your father's people extra taxes and pocket the money to protect my daughter. I left Cora after our daughter ran away with our stable boy. I never looked for my daughter because I was afraid of what Cora would do to them if they were found."

"Wait a second," said James. "You're Regina's father!"

"How do you know my daughter?" asked Henry.

"I know where she lives," said James. "I can get one of my knights to take you to see her. You should get to spend some time with her and Daniel and Henry before the curse."

"Henry? Did she name my grandson after me?"

"Regina," whispered Snow. "Where have I heard that name?" Before anyone could answer, the memory of the young horsewoman suddenly came back, and Snow's mouth fell open with shock. "She saved my life when I was a little girl!"

"And then she saved it again by refusing to marry your father," Henry assured the princess. "Because if she had, Cora would have found some way to call the shots. She would have killed you and your father and kept Regina under her thumb so that there would be no one preventing her from running the kingdom as she saw fit."

Snow brought a hand up to her mouth.

"The Dark One assured us that if we can get Daniel and Regina's child to safety, the curse will be broken in twenty-eight years, and we'll be frozen in time until then," said Abigail, wondering if she was sharing too much information with the princess.

"And you're all positive that there is no way to stop it from happening," said Snow, shifting her serious gaze from Abigail, to James, to Henry.

"Absolutely," said Henry sadly.

"Then I will return to my father's kingdom at once," Snow promised. "No one outside the palace will hear about this until the curse is happening. Thank you for your time."

Henry spent a few hours riding with the knight to the village where his daughter was now living. Neither of them spoke a word during that time. Henry was torn between the feeling that he was about to see Regina again when he'd never thought he would and the terror of knowing Cora was about to enact a curse that could affect all of them. He had so many things to think about, and at the same time it was too much to think straight and concentrate on his riding at the same time.

"This is as far as I dare go," said the knight about a mile from the village. "This road will take you to the village. Daniel and Regina's property is almost right next to the center of town."

Henry nodded. "Thank you, sir." He nudged the horse into a brisk trot.

The minute he set eyes on the property half a mile from the general store and the village inn, he knew he was looking at the right place. Three apple trees grew right next to a cabin built for a small family. Nearby, a mare and foal frolicked in the pasture. Several horses' heads hung out the windows of the barn. Henry recognized the two of them Daniel and Regina had taken when they ran away.

As he drew closer, he saw Daniel carrying a small boy on his shoulders with pitch black hair like Regina's. "Where's Mama?" he asked.

"She's inside taking a nap."

"When's the new baby gonna be born?"

"I don't know," said Daniel. "Do you want to help me groom the mares?"

"Okay!"

Henry smiled. Then he suddenly hit him that all of this, this perfect life his daughter had created for herself, was about to disappear.

"Daddy, who's that man?"

Henry and Daniel were equally startled when the saw that little Henry was pointing at his grandfather. Daniel slowly set Henry down.

"I want you to go wake your mother."

"Okay."

Little Henry scampered off as his grandfather rode his horse over to Daniel at a walk and then dismounted. Henry wondered why his son-in-law wasn't doing or saying anything, and then he realized the younger man was probably expecting him to be angry. Henry held out his hand to shake.

"Thank you," he said. "For rescuing my daughter from that prison."

Daniel relaxed and shook his father-in-law's hand.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to find us."

"After I left Cora, I quickly realized she always had a way of locating me if she needed to ask about something," said Henry. Daniel nodded, understanding. Henry hadn't wanted his ex-wife using him to find his daughter. "But of course it doesn't matter much now, with the curse only mere days away."

Daniel's face turned pale. Days. So it really was going to happen as soon as he'd thought. "Well, I'm glad you'll get to spend that time with your family."

"Daddy?"

Henry's face lit up when he heard his daughter's voice coming from the doorway.

"Regina."

Little Henry watched as this older man pulled his mother into a tight embrace, tears of joy shining in their eyes. They laughed and pulled apart when his unborn sibling started kicking the man.

"Who are you?" asked Henry.

"This is my father," said Regina. "Your grandfather."

Henry's eyes widened. "Grown-ups have parents?" Daniel and Regina laughed.

"I have an idea," said Daniel. "You and your grandfather and I will go let all the horses out into their pastures for the day, and we'll take the rest of the day off. We can have a picnic."

Henry's eyes lit up. Regina just looked at her husband in surprise.

"Don't some of the youngsters still need a training session?"

"They'll be alright for a few days," Daniel insisted. "Your father has found us, we have a baby on the way…we should celebrate."

"Okay," Regina agreed. The real reason Daniel didn't want to work anymore was not lost on her. But she didn't say so. She just put a smile on her face and enjoyed every moment she could with the three most important men in her life to the best of her capability, trying not to let her mind wonder how many hours it would be before this was all gone.

Eight days later

"Daniel! Daniel, wake up!"

Daniel peeled his eyes open mumbling something about how the horses didn't need to be fed because they were out in the pasture with extra hay just in case and he'd filled their troughs last night. Then he realized the mattress he was laying on was soaked.

"The baby," said Regina. "It's coming!"

Daniel got up, dressed himself in a flash, and ran straight to the place Ruth was staying at. Then he and both Henrys went outside to the empty barn to wait while she took care of the younger woman.

Somewhere else in the kingdom, the rattling of carriage wheels disturbed a sleeping village. A witch in disguise stepped out, asked her coachman to wait, and left to go start herself a fire.

In the palace, James and Abigail loaded the finished wardrobe onto the back of a cart and thanked Geppetto profusely. Then they started on their way to Daniel and Regina's village.

Outside Daniel and Regina's cabin, little Henry sat down in his father's lap and looked up at his grandfather seriously. "So if I have the same name as you, does that mean my new baby brother also has to be named Henry?"

Henry sr. glanced at Daniel. "Of course not," said Daniel. "Two Henry's are plenty. If the baby is a boy we're planning on naming him after my father. But try not to be too disappointed if it's a girl, okay?"

Henry shook his head. "I told you, it has to be a boy. I wouldn't know what to do with a girl."

Ruth stepped outside. "How long can you put off the birth?" asked Daniel.

"I can't," said Ruth worriedly. "Her water is broken. This baby is coming within two hours. I need your help keeping her comfortable."

Daniel got up. "Henry, stay with your grandpa."

Henry looked slightly sad as his father went inside and shut the door behind him. Then he turned back to his grandfather.

"Mama always told me I had a grandpa named Henry, but she never told me you were her father, too."

Henry smiled. "That's what a grandpa is. I'm your grandpa because I'm your mother's father."

"Oh. Does this mean Mama has a mother, too?"

"No, she didn't. She had a monster."

"Locks from those with the darkest souls, the strength of something you hold too close."

Into the fire went the leftover locks of hair Cora had saved and the heart. Her face lit up with triumph as a column of thick purple smoke began spiraling up into the bright blue sky and stretching out across the forest. Then she left in the carriage to go see Regina one last time before the curse.

Both Henrys were standing right by the front door when they heard the new baby's first cries. Nervously, Henry senior grasped Henry junior's small hand and waited. He listened to Daniel, Ruth, and Regina's soft voices as they quieted the baby. After a few minutes, Ruth opened the door.

"How'smybabybrother?" flew out of little Henry's mouth in a rush.

Ruth shot Lord Henry a concerned smile. "The baby is fine, but…" Before she could say anything else, the almost-five-year-old boy bolted inside.

"I think her name is Helena," Daniel whispered as he held the new baby close, wrapped in a pink blanket Ruth had made them herself. His shining eyes met his wife's as she looked up at him, utterly exhausted and laying all the way back on her pillow, her face lit up with a look of pure joy for the first time in weeks. Then he looked back down at the brand new little girl in his arms with her tiny fingers in fists and her little eyes looking up at him contentedly.

"We did it again," whispered Regina as Henry walked cautiously through the doorway. She squeezed her husband's free hand. Being reminded that true love could create such precious lives gave her a sliver of hope that someway, somehow, they would all be okay.

"That's a girl, isn't it?" asked Henry when he saw the pink blanket.

"Yes," said Daniel. He braced for Henry's disappointment.

"Hi, baby sister," whispered Henry. He walked over to his father and grinned the second he saw the baby's face. She looked back up at him and just blinked.

"Her name is Helena," said Regina.

"Hi, Helena," said Henry. He then looked up and held out his arms for the baby. His parents exchanged a smile. Daniel set Helena in Regina's arms instead, and Henry snuggled up against her side. Daniel sat down next to them and held his wife's hand.

And then they heard the explosion.

"James!" shrieked Abigail as the purple smoke began swallowing up the forest next to them.

"We've got no time to lose!" shouted James. "Faster!" He cracked his whip just enough to scare the horses into bursting into a gallop. Fortunately the wardrobe was chained onto the platform, so they were able to travel fast the rest of the way to Daniel and Regina's village. Unfortunately, in the distance they were able to see a speck of another carriage headed straight for their destination. And there was only one other person who'd be trying to get there, or out at all right now. James cracked his whip again. "Faster!"

At Daniel and Regina's farm, everyone was huddled around her on the bed with Ruth and Lord Henry on the opposite side of Regina from Daniel and little Henry, who'd run out and grabbed Mr. Horse and was clutching him while starring at his new sister.

"You have to be the one to go with Henry now," Regina insisted. Daniel looked startled. "I'm not leaving my new baby to face my mother without me."

"And I'm not leaving you to face her without me," replied Daniel. "You go with Henry, I'll take care of our little girl."

"What are you talking about?" asked Henry.

Regina smiled sadly and patted the little boy's cheek. "A monster named Cora is going to cast a curse that only you can break. Until you do, nobody will be able to do anything, or go home, or…" Then much to the little boy's discomfort, she burst into tears. She couldn't believe she was having to explain all that to someone so young.

Lord Henry felt his stomach twist when he looked up and saw the carriage coming up the path. It's occupant was in disguise, but he'd recognize her anywhere.

"I'm sorry, Regina," said Lord Henry. "I failed you as a father."

Regina forced a smile. "It's okay, Daddy. How can I be angry with one of the people I love the very most?"

Henry smiled back at his daughter. Then he covered Ruth's mouth to keep her from screaming when the front door was kicked open. They heard a muffled voice calling for them.

"No one. Make. A sound," whispered Daniel.

Just moments earlier, James and Abigail had managed to pull their exhausted horses to a stop outside Daniel and Regina's cabin. They dragged the wardrobe inside and shoved it as far back into the house as they could.

"Hello!" yelled Abigail. "Is anyone home?"

"Let's look in the stables!" said James. He and his wife stepped out the front door only to find themselves starring the evil witch straight in the face. It was a split second before the royal couple were laying on the ground knocked out with sleeping powder.

"Cora's definitely here," whispered Regina, shaking with terror as she held her children close.

Before anyone had the chance to respond, the whole cabin began to shake. Daniel wordlessly grabbed a basket of apples Regina kept under the bed and dumped almost all of them out onto the floor. Then he took the baby from Regina's arms and put her in the basket, nestled in the apples and swaddled in her blanket. For good measure, he grabbed Henry's soft stuffed horse and tucked it under the baby's head and upper back.

"What are you doing?" asked Regina. But nobody heard her because of how loudly the wind was whipping around them. Daniel lifted Henry off the bed, set him down on the floor, and looked his son in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Henry!" Daniel urged. "I need you to take your sister and go find somewhere to hide! I'll take care of the monster!"

"Okay," whispered Henry fearfully. He followed Henry to the door to the room and walked out holding the handle. Regina looked at Daniel like he had lost his mind. Daniel gestured to Ruth and Henry to stay with his wife, but the older man shook his head and got up.

"I'll handle Cora. You stay with Regina."

Daniel hesitated, then stepped out of his father-in-law's way. Then he sat down next to Regina, who Ruth was trying to comfort, and scooped her up and held her against his chest. He kissed his wife's cheek and patted her back and wished with everything he had that he could wake her up from this nightmare.

Henry sat crouched in the corner behind a wicker chair, clutching the handle of the basket his baby sister was in for dear life. This seemed like a good hiding spot, but then again, whenever he played hide-and-seek with Daddy and hid here Daddy found him right away, so maybe it wasn't a good hiding spot. Through the wicker, Henry could just see his grandfather standing in the front doorway. He saw a woman face him.

"We meet again, Henry," she said cruelly. "I should have known you'd be here."

"Get away from my daughter," said Grandpa more angrily than Henry had ever heard him. The scary woman snapped her fingers, and grandpa was lying on the floor breathing heavily.

That must be the monster!

Henry's eyes darted around the room looking for somewhere he and his sister would be safe. The oven was too hot, the icebox was too cold. Maybe under the table? Or maybe that was too easy because it didn't have a door so if she noticed him she could just reach down and grab him.

But what did have a door was that new thing near the back of the house that looked like a piece of tree.

"It's okay, Helena," whispered Henry as soon as the witch had shuffled off to his parents' bedroom. "I found somewhere to hide."

Cora had to smile at how pathetic her daughter and son-in-law looked huddling together on the bed. And how little sleeping powder it had taken to knock out the old woman who'd been trying to block the door.

"Why have you done this?" asked Daniel.

Cora's lips curled into an even bigger grin. "Because this is my happy ending."

"What?"

"Where are those grandchildren of mine, anyway?"

Cora shuffled out of the room. Both Daniel and Regina got up and followed her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" chirped Cora as she peaked under the table.

"They're not here," Regina whispered.

"It's okay! Don't be shy!"

"No, Mother," said Regina. "I mean, they're really not here."

Before Daniel could ask what she was talking about, Regina walked over to the wardrobe, bent down, and picked up something off the floor. A single button from Henry's little vest. She opened the wardrobe and revealed that no one was inside.

"The enchanted tree," muttered Daniel. He walked over to Regina. His fingers trembled as he turned the button over in his hand. "Our children are gone."

"Don't worry," said Cora. "In a few minutes you won't be able to remember that you knew them, let alone had them."

Daniel turned and gave Cora the most hateful look he'd ever given anyone. "What did we ever do to you? What did your daughter ever do to make you want to give her a life where she would always have to be afraid? What right do you think you have to separate her from everyone she ever loved?"

Cora's smile faded. "You still don't understand, do you stable boy?" She walked over to Daniel. "Love is weakness." Her fingers reached forward, slid into his chest, and gripped his heart. Regina's eyes widened with shock.

"MOTHER!"

Cora looked into the now frightened eyes of the man who had stolen her daughter away from her, and from everything she had ever been meant to do. He wasn't looking back at her. He was looking at Regina. Cora watched him mouth something, maybe that he loved her, maybe an apology. It didn't matter. In a few minutes, Regina would forget that Daniel had ever existed anyway. So now was the best time to do this.

As the roof above them began to crack, Regina watched as her mother withdrew her hand from Daniel's chest with his fragile heart in her palm.

Or try to, anyway.

"No," said Daniel after the third time he felt Cora yank desperately at his most vital organ. "It's strength." Cora let out a hideous scream as her son-in-law shoved her so hard she thunked against the wall on the other side of the room.

Daniel caught Regina in his arms just in time for the walls to cave in and for everything that was left of their lives to be swallowed up by purple smoke. She looked up at him and smiled proudly, and he smiled back at her. For the first time ever, Regina knew that good was not powerless against Cora.